'Stay Out Of Tahoe': Residents Plan Protest Hoping To Drive Out Tourists Trashing Town

MEYERS (CBS13) — Tahoe is being trashed as tourists visit during the pandemic and residents say they're going to do something about it.

Organizers planned protests for Friday afternoon and Sunday morning at locations around the lake hoping to draw attention to the mess they say tourists are leaving behind. What started as a social media movement, now has a big following online.

The organizers said they're sick of their beaches being littered and they're worried about tourists increasing the number of coronavirus cases in their town.

"They're leaving their trash everywhere, they're leaving dirty diapers, they're leaving it next to the dumpster," Tahoe resident Jesse Henderson said.

Life-long residents like Henderson say trash in Tahoe is nothing new. Just off one of the main beaches in Meyers, trash piles up, while cigarette butts and liquor bottles litter the ground.

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Henderson said this is the worst year she's ever seen regarding the trash problem.

"I think its the number of people. Way more people are coming here," she said.

Lake Tahoe has been a hot spot for months for visitors across the state. The pandemic shut down travel, and others come to Tahoe to work remotely.

"They're having bonfires," Henderson said. "They could burn our town down."

"I think it's ridiculous," said Tim Enterline, another Tahoe local.

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Enterline said he doesn't agree with those planning the rallies.

"I was born and raised here too, and I need tourism for my business and my kids to thrive, and this town needs tourism," he said. "I want to see people out here having fun and not scared of their own shadow."

The organizer of the protest said he wants this message to reach Gov. Gavin Newsom's office.

They said demonstrators will continue this movement at different spots around the lake throughout the weekend.